Following our European tech sector M&A update, outlook and overview of key regulatory trends, in the next video we discuss the United States (US) tech M&A market, and share what we’re seeing, highlighting trends since the new US Administration at the beginning of the year.

Again, there was optimism at the start of the year, but telecoms deal in particular have been muted. Deal size has been quite large as the bigger companies are focused on scaling up their fibre to the home networks, and smaller deals are expected to get more active as interest rates come down.

Outlook in the US

In parallel to what we’re seeing on the other side of the Atlantic in Europe, AI acquisitions are also the largest driver of M&A in the technology sector in the US.

Public and private companies seeking to acquire AI start-ups to enhance their products and services and gain a strategic advantage presents both opportunities and risks. On the risk side, especially for public companies, there needs to be a really robust technical and legal diligence process in reviewing AI claims. A growing area of concern and something the US Securities and Exchange Commission is very focused on is AI washing.

Media tech is also driving M&A TMT in the US as media companies aim to scale and personalise digital content delivery. 

How is regulation impacting M&A and investment in the TMT sector?

Big changes to the HSR Rules

The new HSR Rules that went into effect in February 2025 represented the largest and most dramatic change since it was introduced. In contrast to the EU, historically the US HSR filing has been very limited, but now requires a lot more documents and information, impacting strategic deals, in particular. The filing has a lot more useful information for the regulators at the beginning, leading to a more active review period during the initial 30-day waiting period, and a quicker review of transactions.

In a variety of sectors, including tech and TMT, we’re seeing continued strong enforcement under the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC), but different priorities in terms of industry and different types of transactions.

More active enforcement and settlements

Under the current US Administration, we’re seeing that settlement is again possible, leading to an increase in strategic deals that might not have moved forwards before, but with the possibility of a settlement, investors are more confident that perhaps with a partial divestiture or limited remedy, that will make the transaction still valuable and meaningful.

Finally in the tech space, the current Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission continue to be focused on customer data, and how it is used, in a combined company post transaction. In the last six months, we’ve seen some innovative behavioural remedies that were allowed and used to allow a transaction to continue. This is of particular interest to those in the tech industry, where the acquisition and accumulation of customer data has increasingly become an issue, and more transactions are allowed to proceed with those remedies. 

More videos from the series